The House of Representatives wants to fundamentally change the appearance of e-cigarettes: “Make them boring”

Electronic cigarettes (“vaping”) are extremely popular among young people. And there are growing indications that the e-cigarette is a “stepping stone product” for young people to regular cigarettes.

Not a luxury accessory

More and more parties in the House of Representatives therefore want to fight against the e-cigarette: most flavors, such as mango and strawberry, will already be banned this year.

According to D66, the popularity is also largely due to the fact that e-cigarettes look like a luxury accessory. “De vapes lijken op een lipgloss of op een marker. Ze zitten vaak vol kleuren en er zijn vapes vol glitters. Ouders hebben vaak ook geen idee wat de jongeren eigenlijk precies bij zich hebben. Super zorgwekkend”, zegt D66-Kamerlid Jeanet van der Ave.

There are even e-cigarettes in circulation that look like airpods, Van der Laan continues. “It gives the impression of being a glamorous accessory, when it’s just smoking and therefore harmful to health. And young people are tempted by all these frills to start smoking.”

Smart marketing

According to the party, there is clever marketing behind e-cigarettes that fetch billions. “We really shouldn’t want that. So e-cigarettes should look as neutral and uniform as possible. Preferably they should look like a regular cigarette. Either just white or black. Because that’s just smoking .”

Does this make the product less attractive to young people? The party thinks so. “Look at adjusting regular cigarette packs: they have also been made neutral. By making the appearance less appealing, we are less likely to use this harmful product.”

Today, the House of Representatives is discussing smoking, among other things, in a debate. D66 tabled a motion today which seems to have won the majority. Some parties, like the PvdA and the SP, want to go much further in the fight against vapes.